The present invention relates to a device and a method for the recovery of proteins and other macromolecules separated by electrophoresis through a suitable gel.
Electrophoresis involves the separation of charged molecular species in an electric field. Gel electrophoresis involves the migration of those charged molecular species through a porous gel under the applied electric field. The most widely used gel is polyacrylamide however other gels may also be used.
Although gel electrophoresis has been widely used for analysing mixtures of macromolecules, such as proteins, its use has not been matched by adoption of the method to preparative scale recovery of the macromolecules i.e. recovery in amounts typically of 1 to 50 mg.